We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Smith Vaughan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Burnout in our industry is chronic and high. Because we are a volume-based industry, most organizations place a high value on productivity with limited practical opportunities for clinician care. Although our industry promotes self-care in the individuals we treat, there is often a lack of consideration for therapist self-care. When starting our practice, my three partners and I set out to establish a culture of team care and value each of our members as individuals by honoring individual needs, skills, and passions, encouraging unity versus uniformity. We do our best to provide flexibility in schedule, case load capacity, education opportunities, and time off for rest. Many of our team members have stayed with Renew since internship and think about our team as extended family. We gather together, pray together, eat together, learn together, have fun together while maintaining financial sustainability and professional structure.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a mental health therapist (LPCC-S) who specializes in Complex PTSD and found my profession by traveling a winding path of discovery. I came out of university with an undergraduate degree in French, English and Education with no passion for the high school environment. I found myself in cosmetology school after a few months of gig work in the form of freelance translation, French lessons and tutoring. After several rewarding years building connections and strengthening my creativity, I began to think about longevity and fulfillment in career. My greatest joy in the salon environment was the one on one connection with clients and I had always been interested in human development and psychology; the “why” behind our movements in the world and relationships. Plus, I had experienced help and healing through my own personal therapy. Once accepted to graduate school for Clinical Mental Health, I transitioned into the education environment as a special education advocate to accommodate my class schedule. Though this wasn’t the most enjoyable stop on my journey; the experience gained was an excellent opportunity to gain insight on the systems that impact clients. During my Clinical Mental Health internship, I had an excellent supervisor who encouraged my passion and curiosity, recommending me for employment at the non-profit agency upon graduation. That agency is where I grew in clinical and leadership skills for 11 years, holding several leadership positions. During my time as the Assistant Clinical Director, the non-profit’s board moved toward a new mission and vision for the agency and team that no longer aligned with my values and aspirations. Along with my three partners, I set out to establish an environment where the mission and vision will stay consistent with the principles we value. We chose the for-profit model in order to maintain that consistency and Renew Counseling Ministries was launched where we can provide a consistent culture of wellness that not only includes the clients that are served, but also the team that counsels those in need. We are able to provide compassionate and hope filled professional counseling to clients who are seeking renewal of the mind, body, soul and spirit while keeping team wellness as the cornerstone. We are a diverse team that values integration of faith with the highest quality of mental health care. Most of our therapists are trained and practice in advanced alternatives to “talk therapy’ such as IFS, EMDR, Somatics, Expressive Arts, Polyvagal, etc. I am extremely proud of the culture we have created and maintain for both our team and clients and the reputation built that draws quality clinicians and a diverse client population to Renew.

It starts with the mission and values of Renew. Our interview process is structured to assess if the potential team member will thrive in our culture. We try to foster the individual gifts, passions and talents of our team and consider our ability to do so when hiring. As leaders we try to stay consistent and clear so that our team knows what to expect from us or if deviating from the norm we give the ‘why’ behind that. Careful change management is our friend. Even if it temporarily slows down movement, it will save time when expectations and fears are addressed up front. There is a specific team member who has the most brilliant strategic brain so when introducing something new, we consider, “what questions will Sarah ask” before we roll it out. Being accessible, doing 360 reviews annually, accepting feedback, involving team members in the development or changes of systems, knowing our shortcomings and leaning into the strengths of others; really it’s servant leadership. If we do well for our team, we will all thrive. Doing my own healing work has been pivotal in my capacity for my team as well as modeling the self-care in which we encourage them to engage. I feel very fortunate to be a part my team: we truly enjoy and celebrate each other, feed each other, pray for each other. I believe this starts with healthy leaders who can maintain and model a healthy culture.

Above anything else, it is providing quality care to clients by hiring quality therapists and support staff. In our field, referrals from clients who have experienced care and healing will always be our most effective marketing strategy. Offering advanced, innovative therapies draws other professionals in addition to clients so we have an extensive referral network of medical and mental health professionals as well as faith communities. Maintaining a professional presence in the community beyond the care we offer by speaking or training also brings awareness to who we are and what we offer.

Any advice for managing a team?

It starts with the mission and values of Renew. Our interview process is structured to assess if the potential team member will thrive in our culture. We try to foster the individual gifts, passions and talents of our team and consider our ability to do so when hiring. As leaders we try to stay consistent and clear so that our team knows what to expect from us or what is deviating from the norm and the ‘why’ behind that. Careful change management is our friend. Even if it temporarily slows down movement, it will save time throughout when expectations and fears are addressed up front. There is a specific team member who has the most brilliant strategic brain so when introducing something new, we consider, “what questions will Sarah ask” before we roll it out. Being accessible, doing 360 reviews annually, accepting feedback, involving team members in the development or changes of systems, knowing our shortcomings and leaning into the strengths of others; really it’s servant leadership. If we do well for our team, we will all thrive. Doing my own healing work has been pivotal in my capacity for my team as well as modelling the self-care in which we encourage them to engage. I feel very fortunate to be a part my team: we truly enjoy and celebrate each other, feed each other, pray for each other. I believe this starts with healthy leaders who can maintain and model a healthy culture.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Above anything else, it is providing quality care to clients by hiring quality therapists and support staff. In our field, referrals from clients who have experienced care and healing will always be our most effective marketing strategy. Offering advanced, innovative therapies draws other professionals in addition to clients so we have an extensive referral network of medical and mental health professionals. Maintaining a professional presence in the community beyond the care we offer by speaking or training also brings awareness to who we are and what we offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: renewcm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renewcounselingministries/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RenewCounselingMinistries